Warriors
by ChElFi
Summary: Inspired by an analysis I watched on YouTube that pondered the idea of Steve starting up the West Coast Avengers after Age of Ultron and leading into the Civil Wars. (The latter will not be dealt with in this story arc.) It's not A/U right now, but probably will be after AOU is released. :D Part of my "Brown Leather Jacket" story arc. Captain Hill developing.
1. Blood and Roses

**Notes:**

**Yeah, I'm bored today. I suppose I could be cleaning, instead I'm going through my stories and trying to rebuild some of the ones I lost in October last year. I'm a systematic person so I'm just running through my list alphabetically the way I've stored it on my computer. That's the only rhyme and reason to why this story is first.**

**This is from my Brown Leather Jacket series. You might want to read that story first. This is an action story (though the first chapter is just establishing the current state of things). Hopefully you all will find it interesting. :)**

**This story starts at the end of Age of Ultron but will not reference it too much, neither will I reference the Civil Wars directly, though that is the next movie after AoU. It just didn't fit into this story at all.**

**Story title from the Imagine Dragons song. This chapter title from the Smithereens song.**

**Other info: My Maria Hill always seems to be an emotional drunk. This is not a bash of any other ship (though Sharon and Darcy will show up later in the story and Maria is always stupidly jealous of them).**

**Please R &amp; R.**

* * *

I want to love but it comes out wrong  
I want to live but I don't belong  
I close my eyes and I see  
Blood and roses

One moment, Maria was standing in Stark's control room, she could hear Steve and Natasha on the comm. The next, an explosion threw her to the floor, only there was no longer a floor and she felt herself freefall. Then she felt the impact as her body landed on something hard, with corners, a desk?

She wasn't sure how long she lay there, she felt herself drift in and out of consciousness. This wasn't a first time for her, she remembered how it felt. She felt the pull to give in to it completely. The pain would stop, her mind coaxed her. She tried to fight, fearful that if she gave in, it would be the last thing she ever did. But the pull became stronger and she knew there was nothing she'd be able to do to fight it, there was no longer any use in her struggle. As she finally gave in and her eyes drifted shut, she saw a man walk up to her. He stood over her and reached out his hands to her.

"Steve," she said.

But the man only laughed quietly and it didn't sound like Steve's laugh. He lifted her, one arm under her neck, one, oddly cold, arm under her knees, and Maria felt herself giving way to the pull of the darkness.

"Rest," the man said, and Maria knew for certain then that it wasn't Steve. The voice wasn't Steve's at all.

She felt herself being carried down some stairs, but the man held her tightly so she never felt as if he might drop her. She tried counting the stairs to keep herself conscious, but after the first flight, she finally succumbed.

* * *

"Maria." A voice was calling to her.

"Maria." Now someone was patting her hand.

"Ms. Hill." It was the same voice. A man. And the hand patting hers was male as well. But it wasn't anyone she knew, she didn't recognize the voice.

"Maria, open your eyes for me," the voice commanded.

She wasn't really in the mood for this she just wanted to sleep. Her only reply to the man was a groan to indicate her displeasure.

"Maria," he continued, unabated. "It's time for you to open your eyes."

She tried to turn her body, to curl it up and pull herself into a ball hoping to give this person an idea of what she wanted, and it wasn't to open her eyes. But she couldn't move. Her body wouldn't respond to her wishes. It was then she noticed the feeling of heaviness. This was more than just being tired. She'd been drugged. She tried to force her eyes open, but suddenly it felt as if she was being strangled, only from the inside. She choked and gagged on whatever was strangling her. Her eyes finally opened and she stared wildly around the room. She couldn't breathe, something was in her throat and it was cutting off her airway.

Hovering over her were a man and a woman.

"Lean your head back," the man said as he pressed his hand on Maria's forehead to force her to do just that.

Maria tried to move her hands to get a grip on what she thought for an instant were assailants, but her hands still were not able to answer her mental request.

"You were intubated, Ms. Hill," the woman said. "We're going to pull your tube out to see if you can breathe on your own."

Maria's mind finally began to register her surroundings. It was obvious now that she was in a hospital, the woman, by her white coat, must be the doctor. The man, by his green smock-style shirt, must be the nurse. She'd been intubated and that meant she was in the ICU. She could only be in the ICU if something horrible had happened to her. Maria tried to recall the events that landed her here but her mind was still fuzzy from the drugs.

After what seemed like an eternity to Maria, but was most likely only mere seconds, the tube was out. But that didn't minimize the pain. It was a struggle to swallow, but she took a few shallow breaths and her lungs only burned a little. After a few minutes and a brief exam, the doctor seemed satisfied that Maria could breathe on her own and would not need to be re-intubated. Maria felt such enormous relief, as if that was the only good news she had heard in a long time.

"Maria, I'm Dr. Clay," the woman finally addressed her. "Do you remember anything from your accident?"

So, she'd been in an accident. That seemed such a small thing compared to what she thought must have happened. But she couldn't recall a single thing about it so she shook her head.

"We're not entirely sure what happened either," the doctor continued. "Emergency services brought you in but the only information they had for us is that a man carried you to them and gave them your name and employer's name."

The flash of a silver hand shot through Maria's memory, but she mentally shook it away. That was impossible.

She tried to ask about Stark and Pepper. Hadn't Pepper been with her when this accident happened? Maria closed her eyes for a moment. It wasn't an accident. She could remember that now. There was an explosion. No, Pepper hadn't been with her, thank goodness. Who had? She couldn't remember. Nothing but an explosion, and the feeling of falling into nothing, and the flash of a silver hand.

Her throat and mouth were parched and the nurse brought over a cup of water and a star-shaped, pink sponge-on-a-stick to moisten her mouth and throat. Maria opened her mouth dutifully and allowed him to rub the sponge inside as she fought back the urge to suck all the water out of it. She knew better than that, this wasn't the first time she'd awoke this way.

"How long?" she asked, hoping they'd understand the question without more of an explanation.

"You've been unconscious for three days while we had you in a medical coma," the doctor explained. "You're body needed time to heal from the surgery and all your injuries."

Maria nodded slightly.

"Stark," she said.

It was a word she knew she could form easily and a name they would probably know.

"News is still trickling in," the doctor said as the nurse began to change Maria's dressings on her wounds.

Maria barely paid attention, her mind now trying to figure out how to get into contact with Steve or Tony or any of the other Avengers.

"TV," she said.

The doctor only shook her head.

"We don't allow them in the ICU. But you will probably be transferred to a regular room within the next two days."

She only nodded her head realizing there really was nothing she could do, her body wasn't even cooperating with her.

The next morning the doctor felt she was recovered enough that she could be transferred out of the ICU. Maria's body nearly hummed with anticipation. She was desperate for any news.

By noon, when her liquid lunch was brought in, Maria had turned off the TV. She had forgotten how emotional morphine made her, it was as bad as being drunk. All she saw were scenes of destruction. There was one clip all the news stations replayed of Steve where he was thrown across a street and his body slammed into a car. He hadn't risen from that limp position by the time the camera had lost the signal.

Maria recalled one of the last real conversations she and Steve had before all this hell broke loose. He was telling her about his regrets, about Peggy and Bucky. Before this moment, Maria could honestly say she'd never had a regret. Now that she was so uncertain about Steve's well-being, she knew she would have several if she never saw him again. She would never have told him about her ridiculous crush, which was all she'd admit it was. But she should have expressed her admiration directly to him, not only in formal SHIELD documents. She should have told him how much it meant to her that he spent time with her when he came to New York. How grateful she was that he had become her friend.

* * *

Four days later, Maria was feeling better and the morphine had been cut down to an amount that didn't seem to affect her as deeply. Her wounds and cracked ribs were healing nicely and the doctor thought she might be able to go home in a day or two. She'd heard nothing from anyone, but that didn't surprise her. From what she saw on the news, the world was a mess, and, according to most, the Avengers were to blame. If she hadn't been hoping for news on everyone, she would have turned it off in disgust.

She glanced at the clock as a particularly annoying news-anchor was, yet again, asking who was going to pay for all this damage. It was almost lunch-time and Maria was famished. She wasn't sure how she could get so hungry doing absolutely nothing. It was probably the lack of coffee that normally fueled her and covered her hunger.

The door pushed open and she started to move her books and newspapers off the hospital table so the food worker could put her tray on it when a voice startled her.

"Maria."

She jerked her head toward the door and almost choked on a sob before she could reign in her emotions. 'Damned pain medication,' she thought.

"Steve," she said aloud.

He nodded at her and walked into the room. He was careful with his steps, as if he was injured and Maria found herself looking him over.

"Are you OK?" she asked. "I was so worried."

He reached for her hand when he came to her side. The way he looked at her stirred something in her that both terrified and excited her. But he looked away for a moment, and when he returned his gaze, the look was gone.

He nodded in answer to her question.

"I'm fine," he said.

Maria leaned back against her raised bed, unable to hide her relief.

Steve pulled the chair next to her bed and sat, but he didn't drop her hand. It was obvious he needed the contact so Maria said nothing.

She asked him to tell her everything. She was certain he left far more out than she wanted. But they'd have time later, she reasoned, and she'd get him to tell her then. In a lull in the conversation, Maria commented on Steve's clothing.

"What's with the hat and the glasses?" she asked.

"Disguise," he told her with a grimace, then glanced up to the TV.

She looked up to see a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies complaining about what it seemed everyone else in the world was complaining about at the moment: The Avengers. Maria reached beside her and pushed the remote button to turn off the TV before she turned back to Steve.

"It's really bad, Maria," he admitted.

Lunch came at that moment and Maria began to nibble on the bread, unsure now if she could hold down the rest.

"Eat," he said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "You need to get better."

Then he smiled at her. It was a real smile, not one of his smiles he used when he was trying to cover his pain, or make other people comfortable. It did strange things to Maria that she blamed on the morphine.

They were both silent for some time after that, lost in their own thoughts, while Maria slowly ate.

"I don't know what to do about this mess," he said. "It's like after New York and DC, only worse."

Maria shook her head. She had no solution now. After New York she had continued on at SHIELD. After DC, Stark had offered her a job almost immediately.

"I suppose I'll stay at SI," she said, finally finished with her lunch and now cradling her hot tea. "See if I can help at that end."

"You've talked with Tony?" he asked, and Maria was concerned that he sounded surprised.

"No," she said and shook her head. "You're the only person I've seen since I regained consciousness."

"Oh, Maria," he said, his voice was pained. "I'm so sorry."

He reached over and took her hand in his again. Then, to her surprise, he leaned forward and pressed it to his cheek.

"We thought you might be dead," he said, his voice was raw with emotion.

"It'll take more than that to kill me," Maria told him as she tried to lighten to mood.

Steve looked up at her. There was tension in his face but he gave her a relieved smile before he surprised her again by kissing her palm.

"That's good to know."

* * *

11 months later

Maria stared down at the street from her apartment window. The buds were just beginning to open on the trees that lined the avenue and she had to admit it looked beautiful. It had been a long, bitter winter, made worse by the fallout from the mess Ultron had made. As well as other reasons, Maria sighed.

"Just admit it, at least to yourself," she said aloud.

Steve had tried to be around for her as much as possible once she'd been released from the hospital the previous year. As she started to improve, she had recalled her thoughts when she wasn't sure if he was alive or not. She hadn't wanted any regrets, so she'd told him. Not about the absurd feelings she had whenever she saw him, just what she thought of him as a person. It had been quite a moment for her. She'd never said things like that to anyone and her heart had felt as if it might explode in her chest. He'd thanked her and smiled and told her how much it meant to him to hear those words from her. Her heart had calmed as she realized she'd made it through the event unscathed.

He had returned to DC shortly afterwards. They spoke on the phone frequently, mostly about his frustration with politicians and her frustration with Tony and Stark Industries. Slowly, their conversations began to fill with the topic of Sharon Carter. More quickly, their conversations became fewer and farther between. His work, and his private life, keeping him obviously too busy. Maria had hated herself for her anger over it. The man had every right to have someone in his life, in fact he deserved it. He was always giving everything and never receiving anything in return. She was happy for him. But, damn it if she wasn't more than a little jealous of Sharon.

She took a deep breath and chastised herself for the thousandth time since that thought had first crossed her mind. Sharon was good for him, g-d knew Sam and Clint said it enough. She was proud of herself that she'd been able to maintain her usual cold exterior when they would go on about some exploit they'd had with Steve and Sharon while in DC.

In fact, she'd been doing a rather good job at the cold exterior lately. Going back to work for Stark hadn't been as easy as she'd thought it would and she wasn't entirely happy with the situation. He and Steve weren't exactly seeing eye-to-eye lately and the rumor mill was rampant with the idea that Steve was starting a team of his own.

She turned to the clock on the wall by the door. It was nearly time to leave if she hoped to make it to Steve's hotel by lunch. He'd wanted to talk with her and had told her he would order them room service. The privacy of the meeting led Maria to suspect it had something to do with the rumors; though, why he'd feel compelled to speak with her about it, she wasn't sure.

An hour later, Maria knocked on the door of Steve's hotel room. She wasn't sure what she'd expected when he opened the door but she was fairly certain she hadn't expected him to appear nervous. He shook her hand in greeting, saying how good it was to see her again and, if Maria was one to think someone like Steve Rogers could ever be remotely attracted to someone like her, she would have said his gave her a very fast once over. As her body warmed at his look, Maria cursed her reaction. It had been a long time since she'd seen him and she'd tried to forget how good just being with him made her feel. Now those memories came back in a flood.

Fortunately he broke the tension quickly by getting down to business.

"I'm sorry to ask this, but can you leave your purse in the bathroom?"

"That serious?" She cocked an eyebrow in question.

She handed him her purse and he set it on the bathroom counter next to a small disrupting device. Maria glanced at Steve as she grew more concerned. She'd never known him to be this paranoid. He took a small scanning device then looked between it and Maria, as if he was hesitant to use it.

Maria raised one eyebrow at him and finally had to smirk at his indecision.

"Is it because you're afraid I'll be offended that you don't trust me?" she asked. "Or because the need for close physical proximity to use it?"

Once the words were out of her mouth, she nearly blushed herself. Hopefully Steve was too busy being embarrassed himself to notice her discomfort.

He finally took a deep breath and turned it on. Maria held out her arms and watched him as he scanned her for any devices. She couldn't be angry with him, obviously this was difficult for him. Steve had once been trusting by nature, she felt, and his life was getting far more grey than he liked. Shortly he was satisfied with his search and stood, re-pocketing the scanner.

"The room is secure so there shouldn't be any problems," he told her as he led her to the table where the food was already set on the usual hotel plates with their covers.

Steve pulled her chair out for her then removed the cover of her plate to reveal a good sized portion of filet mignon, her favorite meal, along with some potatoes and vegetables. There were rolls and butter, along with wine and, to the side, coffee and dessert for after dinner.

"Quite the spread," she smiled slightly as she took it in.

"Filet mignon is still your favorite, I hope," he grinned and Maria chastised herself for the annoying way her heart beat a little faster.

She nodded to assure him it still was, while she tried not to read anything into him remembering this little fact. He had an eidetic memory, after all.

They began their meal and exchanged small talk at first. She knew she was holding her own, as far as revealing her feelings, but it was a difficult task. After they'd brought down HYDRA along with SHIELD, Steve had seemed to go out of his way to get under her defenses and he'd done too good a job. She was no longer used to being so closed off with him.

Finally, Steve poured them another glass of wine and started to get to the point of the visit.

"I'm moving to California," he said.

Maria nodded. She'd gathered as much from Clint, she told him. Her existing knowledge seemed to relieve Steve a little.

"Do you know I've formed a new team?" he asked.

"I had suspected," she replied.

"Barton, Sam, the twins," he said.

"Oh, the twins?" she replied. "That's good."

"You think?" A less nervous smile started on his face, almost as if he was proud that she approved.

"You'll be a good mentor for them," she said. "That's what they need."

She didn't mention that she was slightly nervous when she took into account their powers and all their years in captivity with HYDRA.

"I'd like you to join us," he said.

Maria paused in picking up her wine glass and returned it to the table. To say she was surprise would have been quite the understatement.

"Me?"

"Of course," he smiled that affable half-grin of his that had always given her trouble, even before DC.

"Why?" She couldn't help the question. She just couldn't see why a west-coast version of the Avengers would need her.

"Well, we need ground support and we're kind of short on covert and stealth." He chuckled then. "I'm not particularly spy material."

"You have Barton," she said. "And Sharon is very good at her work."

Steve quickly lowered his eyes.

"What?" she asked. She wondered if Sharon had refused to leave DC or the CIA.

Steve cleared his throat, his nerves showing again.

"Sharon and I," he said, then paused for a moment and took a breath. "We didn't work out."

Maria couldn't have been more surprised. The first thought that passed through her mind was possibly the most ridiculous thought she'd ever had. 'What was wrong with Sharon Carter? Was she that stupid?' Maria quickly shoved that thought aside. She'd deal with her out-of-character fangirling later.

Though, what she did instead, wasn't much better. She reached across the table and took Steve's hand in hers. It had been nearly a year since they'd touched but her reaction was the same. She shoved that aside for later as well.

"I'm sorry, Steve," she said, and, despite her feelings, it was the truth.

"It was my fault," he said and shrugged, but he didn't remove his hand from hers. "I messed everything up. I just don't know," he paused and took a breath. "I thought I could have something." He stopped again before he finally looked up at her.

"I haven't been able to find Bucky, at all. There's not a trace of him. And then Peggy died. And now, some of the few friends I had, well, we're not exactly friends anymore. I just wanted something normal, something that could at least take my mind off everything that was wrong."

Maria gave him a sad smile.

"There's nothing wrong with that Steve," she said. "You deserve that. You deserve to be happy. You have given so much, everything in fact. I think you've earned the right to try. And just because it didn't work out doesn't mean it never will. Maybe Sharon just wasn't the right person for you."

Maria paused and swallowed down her increasing emotions. She needed a moment before she said what was really on her mind.

"I know that Peggy was that person," she said and tried not to react as he visibly flinched. "And I know it wasn't easy to lose her. In fact, you kind of lost her twice."

He gave her a questioning look.

"Once when you came back and it was seventy years too late, and then when she died," Maria explained.

The look on Steve's face told her it was the first time he'd viewed it that way, but he nodded in agreement.

"I can't promise you there's anyone like her, or that you'll find 'someone,' because those are promises I can't keep. But, maybe if you just try for normal," Maria stopped and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, that's useless; I don't know what I'm even talking about. What do I know about 'normal?'" she said and gave a sad laugh.

"Maybe 'normal' is too much to ask for, at least for people like us," he said.

Maria thought on that for a moment before responding.

"I guess, that's what I've always thought," Maria said. "But I don't want you to think like me. I don't want you to," she almost said 'be alone, like me,' but that would sound like she felt sorry for herself, which she didn't, except sometimes she thought it might be nice to have someone who made her feel the way Steve made her feel, like she was more than her job, like she was a regular person.

She sighed and continued.

"You aren't like me," she started but he interrupted.

"Don't you dare say I'm better than you," he said.

Maria looked at him in surprise, but that had been what she was inferring, so she didn't reply.

"It's easy to lead, much harder to follow," he told her.

She shook her head.

"I don't understand," she admitted.

"I make the decisions, the so-called difficult ones. It's not easy, but, honestly, it's always been what I've done," he told her. "But the people who follow me, well, that's a harder decision to make, and most of the time, a lot braver."

"What else would I have done?" Maria asked, knowing immediately he was speaking of the Triskelion.

"You could have done anything," he said. "You could have argued on Nick's side. You could have let us go it alone. You could have called the President. There were a number of options, Maria, and you chose the most difficult path."

His gaze intensified for a moment and Maria wondered what he was going to say that could be so important.

"And when I told you to fire on the helicarriers," he said, and she involuntarily squeezed his hand. "You could have said 'no.'"

Maria looked away. She would have pulled her hand from his, only he had it in a vise-like grip.

"We never talk about stuff like this, you and I, people like us," he continued. "We just let it go unsaid. We're both soldiers at heart and we know we have to do whatever it takes to win the battle while minimizing the cost. And I've had a lot of men and women follow me into that fray. But there's never been one as brave as you."

She turned back to him in surprise and shook her head slightly.

"Don't argue this with me, Maria," he said. "There will be no point you give, which I can't counterpoint. I've thought about this for a long time."

That really surprised her. She tried not to think about that day at all. There were still nights she woke in a cold sweat, his words, "Fire now," echoing in her ears.

"I should have told you," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't."

Maria had no response. What could she say? They gazed at each other for several more moments as she processed his words.

"Thank you," she finally said, quietly.


	2. Our House

**Chapter Summary: **

**Steve seems to know Maria very well. It would make her nervous if she wasn't trying so hard to convince herself it meant nothing.**

**Notes:**

**This is just a bit of a transitional chapter, describing the West-Coast Avengers' mansion and giving Maria a little to think about in regards to Steve and his feelings for her, which, of course, she denies. We'll get more into the other relationships between the other team members after this.**

**Probably a safe bet this is AU after Friday. :)**

**Chapter title from Crosby, Stills, Nash, &amp; Young song.**

**(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)**

* * *

_Everything is good_  
_ Such a cosy room_  
_ The windows are illuminated_  
_ By the sunshine through them_  
_ Fiery gems for you_  
_ Only for you_

* * *

Maria rolled her suitcase through the airport doors to the loading area and cocked an eyebrow at the tall blond man leaning against the idling minivan.

"A minivan, Rogers?" she asked, hoping to sound disapproving. She never would have suspected him the type.

"It's practical," he shrugged and walked over to take her suitcase from her.

Maria had learned early after the battle in New York that allowing Steve to carry things or get the door for her were things that were important to him. She'd been fairly put out the first several times until he explained that it was how people showed respect in his day. That had put it more into perspective for her, and as she grew to admire him more, these were small things she thought she could do to help him not feel so much as if he didn't belong.

As expected, he opened the passenger door for her and waited for her to get in so he could close it. Then he loaded her suitcase into the back before walking around and getting into the driver's seat.

"How was the flight?" he asked as he pulled away from the curb. There wasn't much traffic in Santa Barbara's airport so it was a far less harrowing experience than La Guardia had been when she'd arrived there early that morning.

"The usual," she said. "Noise, bland food, talkative neighbor."

Steve laughed.

"Maybe I should have had Sam fly you here instead," he said with a smirk.

"Well, at least he wouldn't been as talkative," she said with a chuckle.

"So it's two hours from here," she said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I should have just had a helicopter fly you in but I don't think our security is quite ready for that," he explained.

"Thanks, I definitely didn't want to be shot out of the sky my first day here," she joked.

"You can take a look at it tomorrow," he told her. "It's just about done but I'd appreciate a once over from you before I call it official."

Maria's face broke into a slight smile.

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence," she said, not uncomfortable with the way she felt at his desire for her approval. It had been a long time since Steve Rogers' opinion hadn't mattered to her.

They spoke only little and mostly of things to do with what the team was calling the West-Coast Avengers for about the first hour of the drive. Maria took in the scenery along California's central coast. Steve had opted for a secluded location and had spent most of the previous year prepping the place he'd bought. How that had stayed off her radar bothered her, but he'd tried to be as quiet about it as possible. He had explained that the location offered a 360 view and was far enough away from any form of civilization that if it ever came under attack, no innocent lives would be threatened. Maria had smiled when he'd told her that. It was definitely like Steve to take that sort of thing into consideration.

"So, any news on Bucky?" she finally asked.

Steve only shook his head.

"I feel like I'm chasing a shadow every time I check into a supposed sighting," he said.

His voice was tight, almost bitter, and it hurt Maria to think that, yet again, something Steve wanted was always just outside his grasp.

"I'm sorry, Steve," she said.

"Sam said I should have slapped a tracking device on him when I was fighting him on the hellicarrier," Steve joked and Maria appreciated his attempt to lighten the mood, though she really didn't need it.

She was concentrating on keeping her hands folded tightly together in her lap when she'd wanted to reach one over to him. Why she wanted to right now she didn't know. That was the sort of impulsive thing history had shown she did when she'd had too much alcohol or was pumped up on pain medication.

When they finally pulled up in front of the house, though that seemed too simple a word, it was more like a mansion in Maria's opinion, she was duly impressed at the view. The house sat back from a cliff's edge by about 200 yards and was at an askew angle to the cliff. Clint and Sam were waiting on the steps and came down to greet them.

"I'll show you around if that's OK," Steve said. "Or do you want to get settled in your room or eat first?"

"That's fine," she replied and Clint and Sam took her bag up to her room, then, for reasons that were never clear to her, didn't return to them.

Steve showed her the grounds first. There were stairs that led down to the beach at the foot of the cliffs. They had already set up a fire pit and Steve said they spent a lot of evenings down there. There was a pool and spa right off the back of the house as well as a large patio. He pointed to an outside firing range fifty yards from the house and nearby there was an obstacle course the team were putting together for training.

As they walked into the house, Steve, who already seemed somewhat embarrassed to be in possession of such a huge property, became more so.

Inside there was a huge two-story foyer with a spiral staircase to the second floor. Steve pointed toward the dining room to their left but seemed more interested in showing her the room under the staircase. When they entered Maria understood why. It was a library with wall to wall and ceiling to floor book shelves all filled. Maria found herself fighting the urge to blush that Steve knew her well enough to know this room would interest her more than the others. She complimented him on the room and walked over to one of the shelves to read the titles.

"There are more, um," he paused and cleared his throat. "Uh, I have this extra room in my room. It's supposed to be an exercise room but, well, we have a full gym down in the basement so I, uh…"

He trailed off and Maria looked at him questioningly. If she didn't know better she'd say he'd actually been trying to impress her and now that he had, he wasn't sure what to do next.

"You can add your own books," he said, but then quickly added. "I mean, if you want. You don't have to do that. There are shelves in your room. I just thought…"

He trailed off again and Maria really didn't know what to do with the situation. She wasn't sure why books would make Steve so tongue-tied and flustered. She decided it would simply be best to deflect attention from the situation.

"What's through this door?" she asked, pointing to a door to the left of the library entrance.

"Oh, that goes out into the gallery," he said. "Well, it's called a gallery but that's just because it's a long hallway, there really aren't any famous artworks there."

Steve opened the door for Maria and she walked into the hall.

"This is my room," he said as she looked at the door across from the library, then opened the door.

Maria could see a king size bed through the doorway.

"I have a spa tub too," he said. "It's pretty nice, jets and all that. It's really big. If you ever want to use it."

He stopped then opened his mouth almost in surprise at what he'd just said.

"I mean, alone, of course," he told her. "I don't mean, I wouldn't ask, I mean, you have your own tub, it's just that this one's so big and…"

Maria finally had to at least chuckle. Why he was so flustered she didn't know but it was starting to get funny. He blushed and took a deep breath and led her away from his room.

"So this is the great room," he said of the large room on their right as they walked through the gallery.

The furniture looked very comfortable and there was already a fire in the fireplace.

They walked into another hallway.

"This," he said and opened a door on their left. "Is the elevator."

"I don't think I've ever lived in a house with an elevator," Maria commented.

"It was already in the house and I actually found it useful when I was moving things into the basement, especially heavy things," he explained. "But Clint and Sam seem to find it amusing to make regular use out of it."

"I can imagine," she acknowledged.

"And this is the butler's pantry," he said of the next doorway on the left. "But we don't actually have a butler. We take turns cooking and cleaning. I thought about getting someone but it would have to be someone I could trust implicitly, all things considered."

Maria nodded.

"That's OK," she said. "I've always done my own chores."

The way Steve looked at her, as if this approval of his decision was important to him caused her to furrow her brow in confusion once he'd turned away from her again. She shook her thoughts out though. He was probably still embarrassed by the size of the place.

They passed through the mudroom and Steve showed her the garage which was also to the left.

"It's only three car right now," he said and he sounded apologetic.

Maria saw the minivan in one stall, Steve's and Clint's motorbikes in another, and a small Hybrid she thought she recognized as Sam's.

"I know you don't have a car right now," he said. "But if you get one, Clint and I can move our bike's out and just cover them. Or I could expand the garage if you want."

Maria tried very hard not to give Steve an odd look. She couldn't imagine why he was asking her what she wanted him to do with his garage.

Steve led her further down the hall. To the right was a laundry room with two washers and two dryers. Steve apologized for the size of the room and suggested they might add another washer and dryer, if she thought it more efficient. Maria only shrugged and made a decision just to try to play along with whatever Steve's concerns were that were making him act so strangely.

"And this is the guest room and bath," he said. "In case we have visitors."

Maria nodded.

"I know you're cautious, so you're welcome to invite anyone you'd like," he said.

She looked back at him and he was turning crimson again so she cocked a questioning eyebrow at him.

"I mean, they don't have to stay here in this room," he said. "If you'd rather they were with you in your room…"

Steve's voice trailed off at the end and Maria could only stare at him. He was behaving so strangely she had half a mind to check to see if he was really Steve.

"I doubt I'll have any company, Rogers," she told him, and he seemed relieved by that information for some reason.

He turned away suddenly and walked back the way they came. Turning into the doorway on the opposite side of the butler's pantry, Steve led her into the kitchen. Here they found Clint and Sam sitting at the kitchen bar and giving them curious looks. This act only seemed to fluster Steve more so Maria leveled a cold glare at the two men and they both slunk out of the room.

"This is the kitchen," he said needlessly but seemed stumped as to what else to say.

Maria walked toward the back of the kitchen to where it opened into a larger room. This room was also very comfortable looking with leather sofas and another fire in yet another fireplace.

"Two fireplaces?" she commented more than asked.

"Well, there's one in my room too," he said, but he choked off anything else he was going to say.

Maria tried to give him a reassuring look; at the same time, she was becoming somewhat put out by his behavior. She decided she should finally say something.

"Steve, you don't have to worry," she told him. "I don't think you're pretentious just because you have this huge house. You're using it for a good reason and sharing it with quite a number of people. It's better that it's so large or we might all end up killing each other in the first month."

He smiled and laughed what Maria knew was one of his fake laughs and shoved his hands into his pockets. He cleared his throat, still obviously nervous, then pointed out the staircase to his left.

"This is the back staircase," he said and waited for her to ascend.

He didn't speak as he followed behind her and when they reached the top and were in what was obviously a game room, he quickly walked over to the bar and pulled two beers out of a refrigerator. He opened one and handed it to her. She thanked him and smiled when she saw it was her favorite brand. When she did, Steve looked like a kid who'd just asked his favorite girl to the dance and she'd said yes.

"Anyway," he continued. "This is obviously the game room, or recreation room, I guess it's technically called. Clint calls it a pool hall."

Maria nodded and looked around the room. There was a pool table and a dart board and, Maria rolled her eyes, a Ms. PacMan game.

"Clint's?" she asked as she pointed to the game that made the room appear instead like an old arcade.

Steve nodded.

"He wants to get Centipede as well," he said.

Maria laughed.

"I bet he does," she replied.

Clint was always one for the arcade games from his youth.

Steve walked back toward the stairs then past them into another room.

"This is the media room," he said.

As all the other rooms, this one looked as if it was a comfortable place to sit and relax.

"What, no fireplace video on the big screen?" she joked.

Fortunately, Steve laughed at that, a normal laugh, and Maria relaxed slightly.

They walked back out and Steve pointed to a door on the wall opposite the staircase.

"That's Sam's room," he explained, then pointed to another door on his right. "That's Pietro's room.

"The elevator, again," he pointed to the door next to Pietro's room.

They walked down the hall toward the staircase that led back down to the foyer and Steve explained that all the rooms had keyed entries and palm scans so to get in you needed a code and your palm.

"And the rooms are as soundproof as I could make them," he told her. "The doors are steel. I wanted them to be sort of like apartments so everyone can truly have a place of their own even though the kitchen and other areas are common areas."

Maria smiled behind Steve and thought how typical it was of him to want to make sure everyone was comfortable.

"This is Wanda's room," he said pointing to a door to his left.

"And this is the staircase to the third floor which is Clint's room," he explained. "It's just a bedroom and a bath, though. And you can also access it via the elevator."

Maria nodded as Steve pulled a paper from his pocket.

"This is how to change your pass-code and palm scan," he said. "It's only keyed to me right now, but after you change it, it will only be keyed to you."

"What if there's an emergency?" she asked.

"The door is only steel," he said. "Between the rest of us, I'm confident we can get it open."

Maria looked up at him, expecting a glint of humor to finally grace his face, but he was serious still and Maria found herself again cursing Stark and fate in general for forcing that upon Steve.

Steve keyed his code and scanned his palm and the door to Maria's room opened. He stood back to allow her to pass and as she did so, he softly said, "I really hope you like it."

She glanced up at him and caught the emotion before he tried to cover it with a fake smile. She smiled back at him reassuringly and walked into the room.

Maria stopped just inside the door. She could feel Steve directly behind her, he was tense, waiting for her reaction.

"Steve, it's…" Now Maria found herself at a loss.

The room was perfect. While it was probably full of furniture she'd never have been able to afford, and some of it was a little fancier than she might have picked out, the room looked as if she could have decorated it herself.

She caught herself staring and had to remind herself that Steve was still waiting to hear what she thought.

"It's perfect," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

If she had felt strange at his knowledge of how much she'd enjoy the library, she was completely blown away by how well he must know her to be able to decorate the room so perfectly. Even the colors were ones she would have preferred if she was one to give any thought to what her rooms were like.

"Oh, I'm glad you think so," Steve sounded so relieved that Maria had to fight an urge to turn around and look at his face.

She stepped further into the room and Steve followed her. Now no longer concerned, he seemed more like a kid on Christmas morning waiting for his parents to open the present he so carefully picked out or made for them.

He stepped around her and walked toward the french doors on the opposite side of the room. As he opened them with one hand, he waved her over with the other.

There was a balcony, with a view of the pool and the grounds behind the house. Maria looked approvingly, but noticed that Steve seemed to be waiting to show her something else. She gave him a questioning look.

"Look over here," he said more excited and happy about something than she'd seen him in far too long.

He took her hand to pull her behind him and Maria tried to ignore the warmth in his touch. His behavior was odd, but his smile was a real one now and for some reason that made Maria unusually happy.

He led her through another door off the bedroom and quickly pointed to her small walk-in closet and the bath at the end of the little hallway before directing her to another small room across from the closet.

He smiled at her as she walked into the room. There was an old-fashioned secretary to the left of the door. It was elaborate and yet had straight lines that appealed to her. The chair appeared to be a very nice ergonomic chair. To the right of the door was a floor to ceiling window that looked out across the grounds toward the ocean. Maria stood and looked out the window. The sun shown in but it wasn't hot at all.

"I, uh, had them put that in when I realized how great a view there would be from this room if there was a window there," he explained. "I hoped you would like it. See, if you sit here in the chair…"

He took her hand again and pulled her toward the chair in front of the desk. She sat in it and he slowly turned her toward the window, then he knelt next to her and Maria could have sworn he was holding his breath in anticipation.

She dutifully looked out at the sea while she concentrated on the man next to her. She had never seen him behave the way he had today and she wondered why her reaction to all of this was so important to him. She turned to him and smiled softly, hoping it would help him relax if he knew how much she liked it.

"It's beautiful, Steve," she said. "Very calming."

He turned away from staring out the window to look back at her. His face was only inches away from hers and Maria again had to fight the urge to reach out for him. For a moment she could have sworn she saw something like desire in his eyes, but he turned away quickly and stood, taking a deep breath as he did so.

"I'm so glad you like it," he said quickly and again shoved his hands into his pockets in a nervous gesture.

They were both silent for a minute as Steve stared out the window and Maria studied him.

"I should let you unpack," he said. "When you're ready I'll take you down to see the training facilities and the command center."

He stared at her briefly, as if he wanted to say something else, but then he shook his head.

"Don't forget to change the pass-code and the palm scanner," he reminded her.

Then he left the room and Maria heard the door click shut seconds afterward. She leaned heavily back into the chair and tried fruitlessly to assess Steve's unusual behavior. In the end she decided it was what she had first thought, he was simply nervous at what he probably feared was excess as far as the size of the house and the expense of the furnishings.

She returned to the bedroom and unpacked her clothes and the few books she'd brought along. The rest of her things, and there weren't many besides the books, she had shipped and they'd arrive later in the week.

When she finished she went downstairs to the kitchen to see what she could find to eat. After the beer, Maria wasn't surprised to find a lot of her favorite foods in the refrigerator and pantry. She pulled out some bread and the peanut butter and a banana and started to make herself a sandwich.

A moment later Clint walked into the kitchen and sat at the bar again. She glanced up at him and saw he had a bemused look on his face. Though she was curious as to what he was up to, she ignored him. She'd found it a good idea to ignore Clint when he had that look. It was never good.

"So, Belle," he started. "Did he woo you with the library?"

Maria looked up at him in confusion.

"Bell?" she asked.

"Yeah, Belle," he answered. "Like in Beauty and the Beast."

She only shook her head, still not understanding.

"Belle," he said already somewhat exasperated. "She liked books so the beast gives her an entire freaking library so she'll like him."

"What are you talking about?" Maria asked. Then she rolled her eyes and shook her head and finished putting her sandwich together.

"Steve was so excited about showing you that library," he explained. "I just was trying to assess if his plan worked."

"His plan?" Maria asked, putting as much disbelief behind her voice as she could.

"Yeah, his plan to woo you," Clint explained and smiled a huge smile at her.

Maria gave him a very confused look and shook her head and he started to laugh.

"Shut up, Barton," she said.

It really seemed like the only appropriate response.

* * *

**Notes:**

**So, other CaptainHill shippers, are we looking forward to Friday, or dreading it? Are we putting stories on hold, or are we just planning to thumb our nose at Marvel?**


	3. Girl on Fire

_**Summary:**_

_**Maria likes the way the new team is coming together, but if she had some super glue for Clint's mouth, she'd probably like it even better.**_

**Notes:**

**So y'all can thank Capshill for this update. She sent me a request on tumblr to post another chapter.**

**I actually have gone back and rewritten this entire story after I saw AOU, which is why it has taken so long. Not sure why I felt compelled to do that but when I started editing it after seeing the new movie, the other story just seems so, well, bleh. I didn't like it at all anymore. So, I chucked it for the most part. Some of the elements are still the same, but the villian changed and so did a lot of events. Not the least of which was that I had written a fix it for Clint &amp; Laura Barton. Yes, I'm one of those freaky weird people who knew of Laura Barton long before AOU came out. So, while I still ship Clintasha, as a fanfiction writer I was ridiculously happy for the movie fix-it. But, when I went through this story again, I left Laura out. Not saying she won't reappear when I go to edit that chapter before posting, but it just doesn't work for me quite as well as it did the first go 'round.**

**Anyway, that's a long way of saying there are certain parts of AOU I've now incorporated into the story, but not all, obviously.**

**About this chapter...This chapter's focus is on Maria &amp; Wanda. Each chapter is basically about Maria and one other member of the team. The villian in this chapter is from the comic books. Some of the villains in this story might not be just from the main Avengers enemies, I might choose from X-Men or anything else I feel like.**

**(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)**

* * *

Everybody stands, as she goes by  
Cause they can see the flame that's in her eyes  
Watch her when she's lighting up the night  
Nobody knows that she's a lonely girl  
And it's a lonely world  
But she gon' let it burn, baby, burn, baby

* * *

"OK, let's try this again," Maria said as she pulled Wanda up from the mat.

The sweat from exertion was dripping down the younger woman's neck to be sopped up rather sloppily by her t-shirt. Maria was going to give her another ten minutes before calling for a break.

Wanda stood at the ready as soon as she was on her feet. Maria was very impressed at her tenacity at the very least. Since Maria and Steve had suggested to Wanda that she need to learn hand to hand combat in the quite likely event someone was either impervious to the Scarlet Witch's powers or found a way to protect themselves from her, she had worked to hone her skills.

Maria had actually been impressed by both the twins. She had thought there might be some problems considering their past, but they both seemed eager to be a part of the team and, despite Maria's argument against the necessity, to atone for their sins.

"Wanda, it's in the past," Maria tried to assure her. "We all have decisions and choices we made in the past that we aren't proud of."

"You don't," Wanda stated.

Maria looked at her for a moment as the hairs began to stand on the back of her neck.

"It's not because I've seen into your mind," Wanda said. "It's your record, and the way you carry yourself."

Maria sighed and leaned back into the lounge chair next to the pool.

"Well, off the record, there are a lot of things I'm not proud of," she said. "But, I guess, for the most part, I've tried to do what I believed best at the time, which is my point. At the time, you and Pietro did what you believed best. But once you had other information, you made a decision to change your course."

Wanda sat in silence for several moments. Then she sighed and turned back to Maria.

"Is that why you chose to be in the Marines and SHIELD?" she asked.

Maria shook her head.

"I don't think I understand the question."

"Well," Wanda hesitated.

"Just ask," Maria said. "I'm not made of crystal."

Wanda nodded, but didn't appear sure if she should ask so Maria waited.

"Well, with your father," she started and Maria felt herself shift involuntarily and put her guard up.

"How do you know," Maria asked.

"I read all the SHIELD documents on you and Steve and Clint before I agreed to come work for Steve," she said.

Maria let out a slow breath. Of course, it was all out there, for the public eye. She wondered fleetingly who else had done the same. Who else knew information about her private life that she'd rather have kept hidden.

Finally, she refocused on the conversation.

"You mean, how did I choose the right instead of the wrong in spite of my father?" she asked.

Wanda nodded her head.

Maria thought for a moment.

"I just figured that the world was terrible enough, why make it worse?" She coughed out a mirthful laugh. "I wanted people to be able to choose their own way, not be forced or coerced."

Wanda stared at her for a moment as if she was examining her face for any trace of a lie.

"You don't like bullies," she smirked.

Wanda's words startled Maria.

"No, I don't suppose I do," she replied and tried to think of a polite way to change the conversation

"It's why you and Steve have such a close relationship," Wanda said matter-of-factly.

An echo of Jasper's words, "Your relationship with Captain Rogers is a liability" flew through Maria's mind.

Maria shrugged not just in answer but to try to shake off the feeling of unease that was creeping up on her.

"I guess, I don't know," Maria hated herself for being flustered. Wanda set her on edge but she thought she was getting a handle on it. "What do you mean by relationship?"

Wanda looked at her in question, as if Maria shouldn't need an answer.

"You two are very close," she said.

"Well, we've known each other for a while," Maria said. "The only person here I've known longer is Clint."

"But you and Clint are not nearly as close," Wanda pointed out.

"Yeah, well, that's because Clint likes to get on my nerves," Maria said. "I think it's one of his hobbies."

Wanda laughed and Maria tried to relax.

The door to the training room slid open and Steve walked in, it distracted Maria for a moment and Wanda seized the opportunity to kick her legs out from under her. Maria landed unceremoniously on her backside. She grimaced at Wanda then smiled when she saw how proud Wanda was of herself.

She was about to push up off the mat when Steve's hand appeared before her. She grabbed it and let him pull her up.

"Sorry about that," he said.

Maria knew he was referring to distracting her but she waved him off. She shouldn't have been thinking of something else in the first place, least of all a conversation about him.

"Let's take a break, Wanda," she said. "I think Steve's here to remind me that he and I are in charge of dinner tonight."

Wanda smiled a little too knowingly as she looked between the two of them before she left to return upstairs.

Maria turned to Steve and found him looking at her with an embarrassed look and not a little blush.

She raised one eyebrow and tilted her head toward him in question.

"Um, yeah, dinner," he said, then he waved his hand toward the door and followed her out of the room.

Three days later, the team found an opportunity to test Wanda's new knowledge.

* * *

Maria moved quietly along the corridor. She hated that there was no way for her to reach the team. She couldn't even seem to communicate with Wanda. She wasn't sure if that's because the girl had been disabled or if the Mole had blocked her.

There was no fear, though. In situations like this she wasn't usually afraid. Her brain fired on all cylinders and she reacted almost on instinct. She'd face the fear later when she replayed the op in her mind.

A noise ahead caused her to pause in her steps. The sound was still too indistinct to determine what it was, but she continued forward cautiously.

The corridor began to narrow and the decline became more pronounced. Maria suspected she was about 50 yards underground now. She paused when she heard the sound again. This time she was almost certain it was some sort of fight. She continued her descent, carefully placing her steps so she wouldn't slip down the slope.

The tunnel leveled out after a hundred feet and Maria could just make out that it widened ahead. She heard a fist make contact with flesh and Steve's grunt at impact. From the sound, he was the one who'd received the hit.

She moved as quietly as she could manage and peered into the small opening. Sure enough, Cap was trying to hold his own against something, it looked human in the night vision goggles. Maria was certain, by the way the fight was so one sided that Steve had lost his glasses somewhere along the line.

She waited until the man, or whatever, swang at Steve to step out into the clearing and take a shot. It hit it's mark squarely in the back of the head. She could see the blood spatter against Steve in her goggles.

Steve looked up but couldn't see who it was.

"I hope he at least took your glasses off before he started throwing hits," Maria said.

Steve huffed out a breath and shook his head. She couldn't see his eyes but she could tell he was laughing.

"Hey, I had him by the ropes," Maria was relieved hear a smile in his voice.

"Sure you did," she replied and he laughed again.

"Have you seen the others?" he asked.

She approached him and pulled her extra pair of goggles out of her pack for him.

"Thanks," he said as he put them on.

"No," she replied to his question. "I came down as soon as I lost contact. "

"Wanda said there was something messing with her powers, then we realized we couldn't contact you either," he explained.

"Well, let's just assume the others stayed in their teams," she said.

"Did you come down the same way I did," Steve asked, trying to assess his whereabouts.

"Yeah, straight down," she said.

"I must have got turned around after I lost my glasses and that fella came after me," he said.

"I remember this space though. Wanda, Pietro, and I turned this direction," he pointed toward another narrow opening to the right of where Maria had entered the space. "About another 30 yards down is where we lost contact with you."

"The twins went on that way?"

"Yeah," he said. "I was bringing up the rear, Pietro was in front, Wanda between, and I got clobbered. There wasn't enough room for us all to fight so I told them to continue down."

"OK," she said. "Lead the way."

Maria followed Steve down the corridor and marveled again at how someone so big could make no noise. She could barely hear him breathing, even in these tight quarters.

After they'd gone quite a ways down, Steve paused and held his hand up for silence. Maria listened but didn't hear anything. Steve was sure to be able to hear something before her, though. He started up again, but more slowly, pausing occasionally to listen.

Finally, Steve took off in a run and Maria followed quickly. They came into a much larger room. There were a few lights around the floor on the perimeter but they were only about as big and bright as Christmas lights. To their left Steve and Maria could make out Wanda fighting someone. She still had her goggles on and she was doing a good job of blocking and dodging and getting her hits in when she could. She did seem to have some of her brother's agility. Steve entered the fray while Maria scoped the perimeter for Pietro. She came around full circle as Steve grabbed the man Wanda was fighting and Wanda landed a blow to his neck that caused his body to convulse and he lost consciousness.

"Who's this guy?" Maria asked.

"Is that all you can say when you meet someone new?" Steve joked.

"Funny, Rogers," she retorted.

"It's him," Wanda was breathless. "The Mole."

Both Maria and Steve looked up at her in surprise.

"Where's Pietro," Wanda asked.

"We'd hoped he was with you," Steve replied.

Wanda only shook her head.

"We got split up," she said. "Someone was following us so Pietro sent me ahead and tried to draw the guy after him. Somehow I ended up here and I met The Mole."

"And he chuckled in delight and explained his nefarious plan before he tried to take you out," Maria finished with the short version.

"Yeah," Wanda sounded surprised. "How did you know?"

"They all do that, from Von Doom to the Mandarin," Maria said. "Side effect of being a megalomaniac, I think."

"It's really stupid," Wanda started to laugh. "It gave me time to regroup and catch my breath."

Steve leaned down and hefted the Mole up on his shoulder. Maria was about to tell him he'd never be able to carry him through the narrow corridors when they heard a familiar sound. In seconds, Pietro joined them.

"Oh, thank goodness," he said and wrapped his arms around his sister.

He looked over at Steve and Maria.

"You got him?" He pointed to the body lying limply on Steve's shoulder.

"Actually, Wanda got him," Steve said.

"Well, I had help," she said.

Both Steve and Maria coughed.

"You did great on your own," Maria assured her.

Pietro gave his sister another hug.

"I knew you would," he said.

"So is there an easier way out?" Maria asked.

"I'm afraid not. We'll have to drag him part of the way," PIetro said as he pointed toward The Mole. "This way is shorter though."

They followed Pietro out and had to step over two bodies with arrows jutting out of their chests.

"How many others were there?" Steve asked.

"Hawkeye, Falcon, and I encountered a total of five. One got away, two are on the surface."

Maria was relieved when she finally saw some light and felt a fresh breeze starting to blow against her skin.

When they came out into the light, Maria squinted as her eyes adjusted. Barton and Wilson were waiting for them with two live prisoners. Mari pulled out her phone and dialed SHIELD for the clean-up she'd had on stand-by. When she finished she checked over the team, particularly Barton who was prone to downplay any injury, even ones that involved major blood loss.

SHIELD'S team arrived quickly and once she was finished giving them the information they needed, she noticed that Steve had pulled away from the group. His arms were folded across his chest and he had a sour look on his face. She was inclined to laugh at him. He was so easy to read.

"Is there a problem?" she asked as she approached him.

He didn't answer but he stared past her, not even trying to be subtle as he glared at the SHIELD team.

"Steve," she tried not to sound exasperated. "We talked about this. We can't do everything on our own. It won't always be SHIELD, sometimes we'll have to use the CIA, but this time, SHIELD was the best fit."

Steve didn't change his stance or his look and Maria finally allowed herself a sigh in frustration.

"Don't you trust my judgement?"

That got his attention immediately. He looked at her apologetically, the dropped his hands and his head.

"I trust you, Maria," he said. "I'd just trust SHIELD a lot more if they were led by someone I was sure would be straight with me."

"You don't trust Phil?"

Steve stared away again.

"Steve, you know he was under orders," Maria started.

"It's not that," he said. "It's just..."

He stopped and took a breath before looking back at her and continuing.

"Why were you passed over?"

The question caught Maria by surprise, but she just shrugged.

"Politics?" she said, more than questioned. "Look, Fury wanted me at Stark, and, honestly, I didn't want the headache that came with the rebuild."

Steve looked at her dubiously.

"I'm a workaholic, but that's more than I even want to deal with," she said.

She didn't add that Stark was her idea because she knew she could continue to work with Steve. A SHIELD without Captain America was nothing she wanted to be a part of.

He stared at her for a long moment, and Maria tried not to let it affect her. She had joked about him being easy to read, but this look was one she couldn't read at all, only misread because it couldn't possibly mean what she thought.

"I'm glad you're with m…us," he told her, his tone of voice causing her to feel things she really shouldn't.

* * *

Later that night, Maria sat by the fire pit on the beach. The rest of the team had returned to the house after their celebration and conversation. Maria smiled at the thought of their now regular evenings down here. Steve had made the pit when he'd started the renovations on the house. Like all the common rooms of the house, this place was created to generate camaraderie. And it was always like Steve to consider something like that.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of footsteps on the stairs leading down to the beach. From the rhythm and weight, she knew it was Clint. She closed her eyes and refrained from shaking her head in discouragement. She really didn't want to talk with anyone right now. She wanted to relax and go over the op in her head a few times before heading back up to bed.

Clint dropped unceremoniously into the seat next to Maria. He was silent for a while but Maria didn't hold out hope that it would last.

"So," Clint finally interrupted their silence and Maria bit back a moan. "Cap's downstairs beating the life out of a series of punching bags. Wanna explain that?"

Maria took a deep breath and bit back her retort of "No, I don't particularly want to explain anything to you."

"He's still angry about me being passed over for the new SHIELD Director," she said.

Clint nodded.

"Odd, though."

Maria knew he was waiting for her to ask, but she refused.

"I never took Cap as the type to hold a grudge for so long," he said.

Maria turned to him now.

"Long?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's been over a year since he found out, and yet he's still letting it bother him," Clint explained.

Maria shrugged.

"Can't blame him, I guess," he said.

Maria didn't bother asking what he meant by that, he was sure to tell her in a moment if he thought it would agitate her.

"If it was my girl and she was the presumed next leader of some major super spy agency, I'd be pretty pissed as well," he said.

"You don't have a girl, and if you did, she wouldn't be smart enough to make it that far in life," she said as she cast him a dirty look.

"Don't try to change the topic, Hill," he said and stuck his tongue out at her.

Maria rolled her eyes at his juvenile behavior.

"He must really like you a lot," Clint continued.

Maria shook her head.

"Not this again," she groused. "It's getting old."

"Are you going to try to tell me that he's just upset over the misogyny of it all?" Clint asked.

Maria sighed.

"I have no idea why he's upset over any of this," Maria said. "It has nothing to do with him."

"Um, I think I just pointed out that it does," Clint told her.

Maria glared at him, but Clint just laughed at her.

"Shut up, Barton."

**Notes:**

**No, Clint will not be the only person Maria tells to shut up. He and Sam will be tag teaming Maria on this issue. I kind of picture them up in Clint's nest drinking beer and plotting ways to annoy Maria about Steve since she's so freaking clueless. Of course, Steve doesn't help anything since he is not planning on making any move, let alone the first move. (See the original "Brown Leather Jacket" story for his reasoning.)**


End file.
